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Reisheiruhime
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 2573
- Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 3:22 pm
Think I will weigh in here with a thought or two.
One of the things that separates childhood from adulthood is the personal life experience that can only be acquired through the passage of time.
No matter how bright a 10 year old is - no matter how "mature," responsible, dependable or "adult-like" - a 10 year old is a 10 year old with 10 year's worth of life experience.
Now he or she may be doing a lot more with that 10 years of experience than people twice as old but the fact remains.
There are things in this world that no one is prepared to handle until they have lived a while. The Gap Series is about those things. It's not just about foul language, violence and sex. SRD uses those as devices to speak to the reader about life, about commitment, about betrayal, about loyalty, about duty, about violation, about victimization: about life. A 10 year old does not have the life context to understand all that yet. (You gotta live a little first.)
Growing up is a lot like pouring and curing concrete. First of all there has to be the correct mixture of materials (gravel, sand, cement and so forth). It has to be poured properly and finished properly. And then it has to cure. Curing is a bit of an art that takes time and technique. The concrete can't be too cold or too hot. It can't stay too wet nor dry out too fast. Make a mistake along the way and when it's all over you don't get concrete or at least not good concrete.
Grow up "too fast" and what do you get...? (Answering that question requires a separate discussion thread.)
Sure, TF may be capable of reading The Gap Series. But will it speak to her? Will she grasp the nuances? Can she empathize with the characters? Will she see pieces of herself reflected in them? Can she relate the conflicts to her own?
I fail to see how this series could have meaning to a 10 year old. So the only point in reading it then is for mere entertainment, in this case prurient, and perhaps for bragging rights.
What one chooses to read says a lot about a person. What one chooses to not read* says even more.
- Seasauce
* or to wait to read
No matter how bright a 10 year old is - no matter how "mature," responsible, dependable or "adult-like" - a 10 year old is a 10 year old with 10 year's worth of life experience.
Now he or she may be doing a lot more with that 10 years of experience than people twice as old but the fact remains.
There are things in this world that no one is prepared to handle until they have lived a while. The Gap Series is about those things. It's not just about foul language, violence and sex. SRD uses those as devices to speak to the reader about life, about commitment, about betrayal, about loyalty, about duty, about violation, about victimization: about life. A 10 year old does not have the life context to understand all that yet. (You gotta live a little first.)
Growing up is a lot like pouring and curing concrete. First of all there has to be the correct mixture of materials (gravel, sand, cement and so forth). It has to be poured properly and finished properly. And then it has to cure. Curing is a bit of an art that takes time and technique. The concrete can't be too cold or too hot. It can't stay too wet nor dry out too fast. Make a mistake along the way and when it's all over you don't get concrete or at least not good concrete.
Grow up "too fast" and what do you get...? (Answering that question requires a separate discussion thread.)
Sure, TF may be capable of reading The Gap Series. But will it speak to her? Will she grasp the nuances? Can she empathize with the characters? Will she see pieces of herself reflected in them? Can she relate the conflicts to her own?
I fail to see how this series could have meaning to a 10 year old. So the only point in reading it then is for mere entertainment, in this case prurient, and perhaps for bragging rights.
What one chooses to read says a lot about a person. What one chooses to not read* says even more.
- Seasauce
* or to wait to read
Last edited by Seasauce on Mon Feb 24, 2003 4:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Reisheiruhime
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 2573
- Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 3:22 pm
Beg your pardon, TF.
I got confused reading about you and your cousin Tracy and how old you were when you read TCoTC.
Still, 10 year old or 12 year old, I believe the principle applies.
Frankly, it always applies. I understand things now that meant nothing to me when I was half the age I am now. I full expect to understand even more when I am twice the age I am now.
- Seasauce
I got confused reading about you and your cousin Tracy and how old you were when you read TCoTC.
Still, 10 year old or 12 year old, I believe the principle applies.
Frankly, it always applies. I understand things now that meant nothing to me when I was half the age I am now. I full expect to understand even more when I am twice the age I am now.
- Seasauce
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MsMary
- The Gap Into Spam
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Seasauce, I wholeheartedly agree with your comments.
~MsMary~
I agree, Sky. I wouldn't let my 16 year old read The Gap, even though she is very mature and reads at a very advanced and sophisticated level. I just wouldn't want my teen exposed to that level of sexual violence, without a better understanding of life and the world, as Seasauce said above, and so much better than I am saying it.I wouldnt want any kid [nor mine] exposed to the Gap till they were a lot older .. its no bedtime story .. nor is it a cool teen read .. in parts its just plain nasty
~MsMary~
"The Cheat is GROUNDED! We had that lightswitch installed for you so you could turn the lights on and off, not so you could throw lightswitch raves!"
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- I'm always all right.
- Is all right special Time Lord code for really not all right at all?
- You're all irresponsible fools!
- The Doctor: But we're very experienced irresponsible fools.
__________________________
THOOLAH member since 2005
EZBoard Survivor
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duchess of malfi
- The Gap Into Spam
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- Location: Michigan, USA
TF, as you can see by a lot of the posts, most grownups find the Gap to be very disturbing. On one of the other boards where I go, one of the posters said about Donaldson "Stephen is a sick mo** in serious need of therapy" because he wrote something like it. I've read these books, and yes, they seriously disturbed me, too. But on the other hand, knowing a lot of the things can go on in today's middle schools...well, a lot of the kids have been exposed to stuff like this in their real lives...you'd all be sickened and amazed...kids have been exposed to a lot more a lot younger than when I was a kid...at least in America. And if I had to choose, I would rather have my kid read the Gap than be off somewhere behind my back smoking pot or crack in someone's cornfield or causing some young girl to get pregnant. And yeah, stuff like that IS happening with the kids these days, even the ones as young as twelve. I think that I would definately want to have some serious talks with my kids if they were to read it, about sexual violence, respecting yourself, respecting others, etc. I guess my point is, if TF has a trusted adult she can talk to about the more disturbing elements, then I think she could handle it. I would rather not have a twelve year old read this, either my children, TF, or any other children, but if you were to sit down and have a serious talk with your preteen or teen you might be pretty surprised at the things they have already been exposed to in their school. 
Love as thou wilt.
Good points, Duchess
Your post and many of the others emphasize two problems:
1. "Disturbing" things happen to members of the human race.
2. "Disturbing" things happen to the younger members of the human race.
By this I mean that we, adults if you will, know that the violence SRD describes in The Gap happens. It's real. It happens to people we know. It may happen to us. And most of us abhor that kind of violence (perhaps even, any kind of violence). We want to be protected from it. We know that even as adults it is very difficult to deal with on any level (societal, personal, etc.).
As horrible as it is to know that it is real and happens to adults, it is even more horrible to think that it happens to young adults, teens, children and those even younger. In fact, generally speaking the younger the victim the more horrified we are. Why?
Perhaps one reason is that while we know it should never happen to anyone, we especially believe it should never happen to a young person or a child?
Just as I am unwilling to let a child be victimized in "real life", so am I unwilling to let a child be victimized in "imaginary life".
- Seasauce
1. "Disturbing" things happen to members of the human race.
2. "Disturbing" things happen to the younger members of the human race.
By this I mean that we, adults if you will, know that the violence SRD describes in The Gap happens. It's real. It happens to people we know. It may happen to us. And most of us abhor that kind of violence (perhaps even, any kind of violence). We want to be protected from it. We know that even as adults it is very difficult to deal with on any level (societal, personal, etc.).
As horrible as it is to know that it is real and happens to adults, it is even more horrible to think that it happens to young adults, teens, children and those even younger. In fact, generally speaking the younger the victim the more horrified we are. Why?
Perhaps one reason is that while we know it should never happen to anyone, we especially believe it should never happen to a young person or a child?
Just as I am unwilling to let a child be victimized in "real life", so am I unwilling to let a child be victimized in "imaginary life".
- Seasauce
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Reisheiruhime
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 2573
- Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 3:22 pm
One question. You consider The Real Story to be too mature for a 12 year old? It isn't. I read it yesterday. It's a nice book. Pretty cover art too.
Y'all are a bit too sensitive about things. It's just a freggin' book. Of course, given the oppertunity, I'd kill ol' Nick any day. And crack a flower pot over Angus's head. And throw Morn overboard. Well, I don't like any of 'em. The best part of the book, IMHO, is the afterword.
Y'all are a bit too sensitive about things. It's just a freggin' book. Of course, given the oppertunity, I'd kill ol' Nick any day. And crack a flower pot over Angus's head. And throw Morn overboard. Well, I don't like any of 'em. The best part of the book, IMHO, is the afterword.