First, bullying is demonstrated by somebody named A, who is cyber bullying and harassing Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily. Throughout the story A sends them a number of threatening anonymous messages which effect all four of the girls futures in different ways. In the book, A is ruining four innocent girl's lives and making their town turn against them, and in reality they are an example of who not to be. "Theres only so much you can bury, emily. I'm not done with you yet. xo. -A" (Shepard, Ruthless, 55) Instead, A should be minding their own business and not trying to ruin other people's lives simply for their own amusement. That is not how our society should be acting and not the type of person that somebody should want to be.
Next, crime is also present in the book, Ruthless. All four of the girls are involved with some sort of crime. For example, Spencer is selling pills called "Easy A" and would have been sent to juvie if Hanna hadn't broken into a girl named Kelsey's apartment and framed her. Also, Hanna steals ten thousand dollars from her father's safe and blames it on a man who is working for him. One of the biggest crimes that the girls commit is the murder of a girl who they thought was Alison DiLaurentis, but ended up being an innocent girl named Tabitha. The four girls are willing to do anything in order for A to keep their secrets safe from the rest of Rosewood, even if it means committing crimes and other dangerous acts that put each one of their lives and futures at risk. In the novel, instead of going to the police about the threatening messages they have been receiving, the girls are obeying what A says and committing illegal crimes and completing many dangerous tasks. "Somebody knew. Somehow, Somebody saw what happened in Jamaica. And now they were going to ruin their lives, just like they ruined Tabithas." (Shepard, Ruthless, 69) In reality the law is the law, and it should not be broken no matter what the circumstance, and sometimes trying to get yourself out of a particular situation can actually dig your hole deeper and get you into even more trouble.
Both of these social issues are significant to the book because they are not only important to the storyline, but also extends on the idea of how social issues such as bullying and crime can effect a person or society. The author has included hidden messages that are not only interesting to read, but can also teach the reader important life lessons.
Shepard, Sara. Ruthless. New York: Alloy Entertainment. 2011. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment