Where The Sidewalk Ends By Shel Silverstein

America’s answer for dealing with crime prevention is locking up adult offenders in correctional facilities with little rehabilitation for reentry into society. American response for crime prevention for juvenile’s offenders is the same strategy used against adult offenders taken juvenile offenders miles away from their environment and placed in adult like prisons.

The contextual research of Shel Silverstein helped me to understand why Silverstein wrote such a book. His father was not a positive parental figure in his life, while his own daughter who he did not spend too much time with, died at the age of 11. His regrets and sadness for not being there for his child seem to shine through his sad ending of a child and parent relationship. The poem reminded me of the novel “Keep Holding On” as it also features a single mother who makes multiple sacrifices to keep her daughter healthy, but she is taken for granted by her daughter who is bullied due to her lack of clothing etc. The connection helps me to understand how society, who wishes Noelle to look a certain way, changed Noelle’s outlook on her mother.

Books are said to be the foundation of our knowledge, the fruit of our innovation and the life of our values. Today, we can read Fifty-Shades of Grey publicly without a sanction and is viewed as normal. Although among children’s books it has not always been that way. In China, Green Eggs and Ham written by Dr. Seuss was banned by the Chinese Government from 1965-1991 due to its supposed display of early Marxism and in California due to its assume sexual nature. The world of tolerance pertaining to books has expanded from sneaking in to reading online to now also the difference within education systems like China and among the state of California. In California, Green Eggs and Ham was banned by officials at a California School in the early 1990’s due to the assumption that the book gave homosexual seduction in which they thought the eggs and ham tempted Sam in a sexual nature while in China, the book was ban because the Chinese

Although everyone is their own individual, society determines who is considered “normal.” In Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon struggles to fit in with the people around him because of his mental illness. Elie Wiesel faces the same struggles while trying to survive in a concentration camp in Night. Charlie and Elie have both been challenged by the concept of identity. In Flowers for Algernon and Night, these characters have faced many conflicts including not having their identity accepted by society, having insecurities about their identity, and being mistreated based on their identity.

“Anything can happen child. Anything can be”, Silverstein was an amazing children’s poet. The majority of his poems are very positive, happy and uplifting. His poems have been read by multiple generations and they will continue to be passed by for many more years to come. His poems are relatable for children, teens, and even adults. Silverstein loved his career and was very good at it as well. Although he’s mainly known for his children’s poems or children’s books this wasn’t his original plan, however it turned to be a great path for him take and made for a successful, happy life.

Children’s literature is the precedent for the development of all children. Children’s literature varies from poetry to children’s picture books. Every aspect of children’s literature gives an ability to grow a child mentally and develop their ideas and imagination. In early literature, children were romanized to be perfect and well behaved. Author Maurice Sendak counters the idea of a perfect child in his book “Where The Wild Things Are”. Sendak uses his picture book to illustrate a child’s ability to have feelings of anger, resentment, and frustration. The interviewer, Patrick F. Roughen of Red Feather Journal states that“Where the Wild Things Are (1963) contains some of the earliest attempts in children’s literature to represent the intrapsychic challenges of the lives of children. Anger, frustration, and the complexities of parent-child relationships can be found throughout its pages”. “Where the Wild Things Are” reinforces the idea that children are capable of emotions that one would imagine are only depicted in the adult world.

In the article “The End of Men,” Hanna Rosin offers several examples of women overpowering men. The inequality between men and women has become a critical issue in today’s society. According to Rosin, women are slowly surging ahead in the workforce and family life while men are left behind struggling to meet expectations. Rosin argues that this role reversal is taking place because women are simply better suited for postindustrial society.

The Poetic Analysis of “Where The Sidewalk Ends” by: Shel Silverstein “Where The Sidewalk Ends” is a tercet poem as well as a book of poems by Shel Silverstein. He is known for his humorous and wacky childrens poems, as well as his trippy black and white sketches. Some of his most famous work include “A Light in The Attic” and “The Giving Tree”. According to booksource.com, the poem was published in 1974, and geared towards entertaining and engaging children. Silverstein’s poem also has a deeper meaning for adults.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is a short story that depicts the childhood of a boy who spent most of his time with a giving tree that showed him nothing but love, however after reading this short story one may have second thoughts on what their definition of true friendship is. In the start of the short story, a young boy and a tree meet and become close. Yet as the boy becomes older he visits the tree not to reminisce about the old days or have fun but to instead take from her. Through a Marxist lens, one can witness how the boy takes advantage of the trees natural resources to further his own economic status. While also being made to look like a part of the upper class while the tree associated with the lower and working class.

Sheldon Allan Silverstein was not always the literature icon he quickly became in the mid 20th century. Born on September 25, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois during the Great Depression. He was not a very sociable child. His hobbies included drawing cartoons and writing. As a result, his professional drawing and writing career began with cartooning and writing for Playboy Magazine, in 1952. He was also not popular with girls during his teenage year, which motivated him to write more mature poetry in the future about love. Silverstein wanted to reach out to all age groups and express that his talent was not only used for the entertainment of children, but for everyone. Silverstein didn’t write to impress others “… he did “hope that people no matter what age, would find something to identify… and experience a personal sense of discovery”.” in his poetry (Shel Silverstein 1999). Silverstein was divorced and had one daughter, who died in her childhood. He served in the armed forces during the 1950’s, and

“Stop letting people walk all over you. You 're not a sidewalk.” This is a quote that applies to the life of Paul Fisher. Paul Fisher is a 13-year-old character played in the novel, Tangerine by Edward Bloor. Paul, who moved from Texas to Tangerine County located in Florida was disabled. His disability of being legally blind has been the shadow of his life. Paul has an older brother named Erik Fisher, a mother named Mrs. Fisher, and a father Mr. Fisher. Erik is the star kicker for Tangerine High School. All of Paul’s life, Erik had been the fearful, scary older brother to Paul. In Edward Bloor’s novel Tangerine, Paul’s brother Erik, has a negative impact on Paul throughout the novel, but will his fear for Erik change throughout the novel?

The word pleasant has never been used to describe Charles Bukowski, with his traumatic upbringing being the primary cause. His father was a tyrant, physically beating him for even the smallest offenses, and he was the victim of constant bullying throughout his school years. These events shaped Bukowski into the cold and desensitized writer the public has come to know and appreciate for his blatant honesty. Though violent imagery and vulgar diction are typically what characterize Bukowski, his work, specifically in poems like “The Crunch,” reveal a deeper portrait of the author, one that depicts the truths of urban life and the American Dream, as well as the shift that occurred in his works in relation to his impending death.

“But I’m free to live … go wherever I please, do whatever I want; I believe everyone should live like that. Don’t be dependent on anyone else—man, woman, child or dog. I want to go everywhere, look at and listen to everything. You can go crazy with some of the wonderful stuff there is in life” (Burns, Marion 1-2). Shel Silverstein, the author of “The Giving Tree”, is not only a children’s author of literature but a musician, photographer, and a Korean War veteran (Burns, Marion 1-2). Silverstein is the typical man that is well-fit who wears the typical blue jeans and cowboy hat (Burns, Marion 1). He blends in by roaming around the world and being free (Burns, Marion 1). “The Giving Tree” is a piece of work that uses a simplistic style that is not just meant for young kids but is meant for all ages; is able to relate to peoples lives and opens peoples eyes on life.

To start with, Sheldon Allan Silverstein also known as Shel Silverstein was an author, writer, cartoonist, poet, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and screenwriter; he was even nominated for an Oscar because of his song “A boy named Sue” performed by Johnny Cash ("Shel Silverstein Biography"). Silverstein started his career in the U.S. Army while he worked at a magazine company writing poems and songs (“Shel Silverstein Biography”). Later on, Silverstein became a children’s author and his books were among the most beloved by children, the most famous being “The Giving Tree” (“Shel Silverstein Essay - Silverstein, Shel - ENotes.com”). Written with a specific purpose in mind, Silverstein’s poetry for a young audience offered moral lessons

Harlan Coben, an American writer of thrillers and mystery novels once said, “Make no mistake, adolescence is a war. No one gets out unscathed.” The term adolescence typically describes the years between ages thirteen and nineteen. Some experience more hardship during this time period than others. No matter the experience, everyone is bound to take something with them from that stage in their lives. American poet and educator, Ai , author and teacher, Gwendolyn Brooks, and emmy award winning poet Kwame Dawes have all contributed works of literature dealing with this time era of one’s life. Ai’s “The Kid” tells a gruesome story about a young boy and his family. The world around the young boy is moving in perfect harmony. However, he is not. He begins to kill off his family members one by one in an unsympathetic context. Gwendolyn Brooks “We Real Cool” is a poem about seven young pool players. They drop out of school and live careless lifestyles. These careless lifestyles would soon lead them to an early death. This poem was written in 1959. During this time the racial tension within communities was at an all time high. Civil Rights leaders were constantly pushing for the rights that African Americans deserved. The time period it was written in fits in well with the context of the poem. At a time when the quality of life for people of color was constantly degraded, young males such as the ones in the poem had nothing to lose. Kwame Dawes “Tornado Kid” tells a story about a