Room at the Top

Beside all of the controversial issues and teaching issues, I find myself rather interested in the motif for this book, or in other words the author. I wonder what her views are on hope for young girls and her feelings of true friendship as the ending is rather depressing. Jenny’s information is very helpful as her blog contains Bathurst’s view on women and I love her idea that men and women both have their flaws, that women too can be the oppressors rather than the victims. In a website I found myself http://www.theblurb.com.au/Issue36/Special.htm a seemingly insignificant passage is discussed with Bathurst and she reveals her feelings about young women or female adolescence through it. The passage is the one in which Jules asks Ali to read them all a story, however all Ali has is a few fairytales and from past experience the reader immediately expects an outburst from the girls, a total rejection towards the book. However this does not happen, in fact Jules tells Ali to read the stories, a total surprise to all including myself. What Bathurst is saying is that while young girls live as if they are adults, they are still deep down innocent children simply trying too hard to grow up. Knowing this I no longer imagine Bella to be the crude pessimistic women I once thought she was, but simply someone who understands what it is like to be a teenager.

After reading “Special” and acknowledging the truths and real life dilemmas that arise in the text I finally ask myself, would I teach this? The answer is no, not because of the controversial context, but because there seems to be no final conclusion to grasp, no central issue to revolve discussion around. Yes every character struggles with issues that are relevant today but high school students need answers, they need characters they not only can relate to but characters that show there is a way out, a chance for happy ending. As I look through Anne’s and Sarita’s blogs I see they agree, and without surprise for very similar reasons. I like the statement Sarita makes that ties in with my thinking of a solid conclusion, her idea that there must be some sort of redemption. Yes the book allows for issues to be brought up, but the teacher also needs some textual evidence to prove that there is hope, or in Sarita’s words that the classroom isn’t all doomed.
As I ponder my own interest in the story I realize my only draw to it was its shocking context. As wrong and twisted as that may seem it is true. So when I realize that I am shocked as I read the text as a sophomore in college who has seen and or dealt with these issues in real life I know without a doubt that a 9th grader in high school would be blown away by the context. I am never one for banning books, and am not necessarily saying this book should be banned, but I am saying that the only way a book of this caliber should be used if it has the ability to chance or help teenagers in their walk of life, and “Special” does not.

“She shoved it back into her skin again and again down and down, plunging at herself. The pain was immediate, a pure, straightforward kind of hurt. It felt right. It felt better.”

How could this feel right, how does anyone become so distorted that this kind of pain begins to feel right? For Hen it does as she repeatedly is cutting herself throughout the story, it is an escape for her, a way to cope with her low self-esteem. In a website I found http://observer.guardian.co.uk/focus/story/0,6903,718183,00.html the topic of cutting is discussed and the subject hits Hen’s case right on the nose. The page talks about the fact that many young teenage girls are cutting themselves, they are looking for some sort of escape as it explains, “Adolescents have always been known to self-harm, to attack their own bodies in a cry for help and as a sign of psychological disturbance. They may become anorexic or bulimic.” Every part of this quote describes Hen in a nutshell, so the question is how doe we fix a problem such as this one? Well that is a dilemma as it is often difficult to discover a teenager who is cutting their self. On another website I found http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/cutting.html there is a list of ways in which the cutter can get help, however that means the cutter must make the decision which often does not happen. The last advice for teachers, friends, and family is to keep a close eye on any teen that seems to be having troubles, maybe they are quiet or withdrawn, maybe seeming depressed or showing signs of an eating disorder. Another key indicator is clothing. Hen often wore clothing that covered her entire body as many cutters do, in order to cover their scars. So if a teenager is wearing winter-like clothing in early June there might be a problem. In any case it is important that friends and family do their best to keep adolescents form taking their inner-conflicts too far.

One question comes to mind after I set my book down after each short read, do girls really act and think this way? If so then thank God I am a boy, the text simply goes to every length possible to make the life of female adolescence seem unbearable, unthinkable. We the readers are presented with numerous examples of the cruelty that young females practice not only on each other but also on their selves. Never once in the story is a character content with her appearance or social status, there is always more to be had, more ground to gain and it seems as if the only way to achieve this never accomplished goal is to destroy their peers lives or their own bodies. Hen’s eating disorder has grown to the point of seemingly no return. Jules’ strive to become a mirror image of Caz has allowed a life of constant jealousy to rule her every thought. Ali too is troubled by the demand to be perfect, as Izzy simply longs for a conversation.
After allowing the text to sink in I wonder, does this book frighten me in the way that it does because of its harsh language and unruly events, or because I know that there is incredible truth in what Bella Bathurst has written. I have known a girl that fits each one of the profiles listed above, there are thousands maybe millions of these girls struggling with these issues today and there are two sources to blame; you guessed it, the media and ourselves. What h come to expect of our young women today, well as I stare into my computer screen after rummaging through Google all I can see are images of women on magazines who obtain a beauty that many only dream about. Websites such as http://www.glamour.com/, www.seventeen.com/, and www.cosmogirl.com all contribute to the never ending push to look better; they all tell women that there is always something they can be doing to improve themselves. These women on the magazines have become a goal for most teenagers today, and because boys like Higgs, Yves, myself, and thousands others set standards based on these cover girls we fuel the flame of the never-ending war for women in society. They will do anything to become that girl that all the boys want. Whether it is starving their self such as Hen, or framing others such as Caz the goal is all that matters and according to this book the results can be disastrous. We need to stop setting these standards; we need to be content, caring, and king, both men and women because otherwise women will never stop living the lifestyle that they do.