Be Brave for Me.

Author's Note: I wrote this letter as a creative piece relating to Christmas. This year especially, I've realized how little the materialistic gifts really mean on this day of love and family. Then I began to think of what it would be like for someone without a family on Christmas. I wrote this from the perspective of an eight year old girl whose widower father went to war leaving her with a poor foster family. Let me know what you think!

Dear Santa,

I know you're very busy this year and Ms. Jones says that sometimes you don't have enough time to make it to all the kids houses or read all their letters. And I understand that haven't been a perfect, little girl all year long, either. Sometimes I fight with the other foster kids and last week, when Ms. Jones asked me why I was crying, I lied and told her it was because I bumped my elbow. But anyways, if you're even reading this, I have a favor to ask you. For Christmas I don't want a bike or new toys, what I really want, more than anything in the world, is for you to bring me my Daddy back.

Three years ago, he dropped me off here at the home. I still remember that day. He knelt down in front of me so we were face to face and gently grabbed my arms. He told me that he had to go away for a while. He was going to some place called Afghanistan to catch the bad guys so that here in America I'd be safe. He told me that he was going to be brave for me so I had to be brave for him, too.

I've been very brave the past few years, but i can't grow up without him and he can't stay there forever. The other kids you can make miracles so I was thinking, if you're not too busy this Christmas, maybe you could bring him back to me. And then I could be like all my friends at school, with a real father, and a family of my own.

Thank you for reading this Santa.

Sincerely,

Addie.

Brainwashed.

Author's Note: This was an assigned piece to fit the standards of theme analysis. In this piece I explain the importance of government knowledge and how it is expressed throughout the books Fahrenheit 451 and 1984.

The other day, while doing her social studies homework, my sister began to complain about how knowledge of our government and the history of it serves no importance to people of our society. She then went further into detail about how only people expecting themselves to go on into congress or politics should "have the misfortune of learning this stuff". But, with my newly gained intelligence about the significance of governmental wisdom I got from books, I was able to explain to her why she needs to be educated in this subject. The less you know about your government, the more vulnerable you are to the control of that government.

In George Orwell's 1984, from a very young age, people are brought up learning, or more frankly knowing, that Big Brother is almighty and it is impossible and unimaginable to attempt to rebel against him. From the age of four, children are sent to a facility to be trained to become Junior Spies working for The Party. From there, they continue to be brainwashed by the telescreens that are set up in each and every house, work building and even a midst crowded cities to monitor peoples actions. Blindly controlling people of their country is how the government keeps their power.

In Fahrenheit 451, the government takes a completely different approach when it comes to control, stripping society of their intelligence. Books are prohibited and schools are eliminated. Day after day people sit in their parlors and watch mindless television, unaware of the power their government has over them. They do not dare to own books for they know of the consequences that come from doing so. The uneducated community members are so caught up in their shows and gossip that they don't realize how much power the government has over them.

Lastly, citizens of the community in The Giver, follow the rules of 'sameness' where everything is the same. Everyone has the same amount of money, food, and luxuries as the next one. But the one thing they don't get is power. No one really realizes their lack of control in the community and this is the way the government wants it.

So when my sister wanted to know why we need to know how having knowledge in the history of the government affected her, I referred to these books, more importantly, their common theme. Not only government control but the blind control of it. In every one of these books, the characters were so oblivious to the power that was being held against them that the government held complete power over everything. If we were as uneducated as these people, we could be forced to do practically anything they want and all of our freedom would be taken from us. Thoughts, ideas, emotions...they'd all be gone. And what would we be left with? Nothing. Nada. Not a dollar to our name.