Tag Archives: ethics

The Outsiders: Character in the face of discrimination and bullying

♦ December 7, 2014 ♦ Leave a comment

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. 168 p. New York: Viking Press/Dell Group. 1967. Ponyboy Curtis is an impoverished, greasy-haired orphan being raised by his older, high school dropout brothers. Ponyboy the Greaser is also intelligent, observant, and sensitive, with dreams of being a writer. His brothers, Darry and Soda Pop, are attractive, engaging young men, have …

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Fahrenheit 451: The dystopian future that’s become our present

♦ December 7, 2014 ♦ Leave a comment

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. 165 p. New York: Ballantine Books. 1953. Guy Montag is a third-generation fireman in a world where firemen are fire starters. An alarm gets raised, and Guy races to the reported site and burns every book on the premises. Book ownership has been outlawed. Literature, with its challenging concepts and provocative …

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A Separate Peace: Tragedy and redemption at a boarding school during WW II

♦ December 7, 2014 ♦ Leave a comment

John Knowles. A Separate Peace. 236 p. London: Secker & Warburg Books.1959. Did you ever have a friend who was so beautiful, so popular, so winning, that it was painful? Gene Forrester is so envious of his roommate, Finny’s, attractiveness and athleticism that it clouds his reason. He begins to believe that Finny is sabotaging …

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The Giving Tree: Picture Book about Selfishness and Selflessness

♦ December 7, 2014 ♦ Leave a comment

Silverstein, Shel. The Giving Tree. 54 p. New York: Harper & Row. 1964. Is unconditional love a good or bad thing? How much should someone sacrifice for someone else? Everything? These are the kinds of questions that The Giving Tree poses to readers. In Shel Silverstein’s spare text and illustrations, a loving relationship between a …

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