Chapters 7-20 The Jungle

So many people died in these chapters! It made me so sad  when Ona and her baby died. I really wish this book wasn't so depressing. I think between reading about the unsanitary slaughtering of animals and the deaths in the meat processing plant and the deaths of the people living in poverty, this book is just far too depressing for anyone's good. I understand that this is a socialist novel but this is just out of hand. This book is absolutely disgusting.

Go Ask Alice

I am reading the book Go Ask Alice. I am really enjoying reading this book because it has a really good story line and is super easy to read. Right now I am on page 66. The narrator, who I am calling “Alice” for the time being, in order to avoid confusion so far has just introduced me, as the reader, to her life and events leading up to her first experience with drugs. On July 10^th, “Alice” attends a party and becomes involved in a game called “button, button”. In this game, every player, there are 14 in the game being played in the book, is given a bottle of Soda. Ten out of the 14 bottles of soda are laced with LSD. This is “Alice’s” first actual experience with drugs. She describes what it felt like to take the drugs and explains why she becomes addicted to taking drugs and wants to try other different types of drugs. One evening, “Alice” goes to yet another party and tries acid. At this party, she loses her virginity and begins to panic about being pregnant. Thankfully, she isn’t pregnant. This book is really difficult for me to read because of personal experiences I have had with drugs. While I have never consumed drugs of any way, shape or form, I have had a lot of friends who have done drugs, as well as my father is a severe alcoholic and suffers from an addiction to his prescription medications. I had a friend from when I lived in Denver die from a drug overdose. This book is definitely something that emphasizes yet again why I am so against drugs and alcohol.

p.s. Mr J, it bugs me that in your video that Mrs Karl showed at the beginning of class you looked directly at me when you said “Enjoy your meat for thanksgiving”

~Ashleigh Belle~

Chapter 5 6 & 7 The Jungle Response

*Chapters 5, 6, & 7*

I found this part of the book disgusting. It quite seriously made me sick to read the depictions of how unsanitary the conditions in the meat-packing plant were. There are very specific reasons for which I am a vegetarian and this book just re-enforces my reasons. The conditions under which the employees are forced to work as well as the conditions under which the animals are killed are absolutely disgusting. I find it quite interesting that nobody has stood up to the master powers of the industry even though it is just the beginning of the book. This book also makes me contemplate the sheer hypocrisy of citizens of the United States. We have countless laws and regulations about the in-humane killing of domesticated animals, yet as a society, we in-humanely kill millions of animals out of our own personal greed for food. I understand the human nutritional value for the proteins and fats contained in meats but surely there are more humane ways of slaughtering animals. Also, I cannot imagine working whilst standing in over an inch of animal blood. I’m sure that many of the employees within the meat packing plant described in the book will catch diseases, become injured, and most likely die from the work that they are doing. There is no consideration for the animals, sanitation of tools and workspaces, or the amount of work being put in by the employees who are slaughtering large animals on a daily basis. This book disgusts me and makes me thoroughly sick and completely iterates to me why I am a vegetarian.

                                ~Ashleigh Dries~