One of my essential questions while reading the book, Things Not Seen, is if Bobby ever goes back to the way he was? This question tied to the novel because the whole conflict happening in the book, was Bobby turning invisible. It was mostly an internal conflict between Bobby and himself. Bobby didn’t want to stay invisible for the rest of life and the fact that he found out that Sheila had been invisible for three years, made him feel more afraid because he thought to himself if his invisibility was going to be a permanent condition. His father and Alicia’s father made up numerous ideas to reverse the invisibility, but they couldn’t decide how much more time they needed. Several weeks, months, and maybe even years. There was also an external conflict because social services came into his home with a search warrant, Bobby has skipped school for many days and it was starting to get suspicious. Social Services had to call the police and interview Bobby’s mother for questions, the lie that the parents told the authorities is that he is in Florida with his Aunt Ethel. Then, social services calls into Florida and makes sure, the authorities follow the address of where Aunt Ethel lives to identify if Bobby is there. Bobby’s mother is starting to get frustrated because social services keep coming in her house, unwelcomed and uninvited. The longer the parents keep the lie up, the more chances of them getting put in jail. Bobby does not want that. It connects with the essential question because it is important to ask if Bobby turns back to himself because the conflicts keep rising. The outcome of the essential question is that Bobby turns back to himself, It was Alicia’s idea, “two negatives make a positive”. If Bobby tries the electric blanket again, he cannot become more invisible, so he decided to try to sleep with it again. As a result, he was back to himself and living a regular life.
While reading, Things Not Seen and the article, “8-year-old who is blind prepares for reading competition in L.A.”, it showed me multiple differences and comparisons. The relation between the article and the book is that it focuses on the condition of being blind. The two topics that are talked about both in the article and the book is that a disability does not define what you can or cannot do, you have to have a strong mindset and know you can do anything if you believe in yourself. It states in the book, Things Not Seen, “ ...Alicia's smiling and nodding, moving her head to follow the voices of the people at the table. She looks like she could have just graduated from college. With honors. And three proposals of marriage” (Clements 183). This quote means that even a person with a disability, shouldn’t give up on their lives. Alicia is blind but a very intelligent person that can get very far in life. Alicia clearly shows that blindness will not interfere with her view on her future. Likewise,it states in the article,” Now, his reading has earned him a bigger honor. In Los Angeles, he'll compete in the Braille Institute's Annual Braille Challenge. Amare, who is blind, is one of 50 finalists from the U.S. and Canada. He made the finals by scoring in the top 10 out of 310 students in his age group on the institute's test.” This means that despite the fact that he cannot see physical things around him, he can read Braille very well and will be competing in a challenge. Amare accepts the fact that he is blind and knows it doesn't affect the way he goes on about his education and learning.
The way the article and the book contrast is the age difference. In Things Not Seem, it states," ... Plus she's right about people avoiding her. No one walks near her, no one even looks at her for more than a second." (Clements 84). This quote is stating that Alicia also feels invisible because no one even bothers looking at her and no one walks near her. She feels isolated and sadness. She was once very popular in school but when she woke up one day and couldn't see anything, her world shifted into a different way. She lost contact with her old friends and it was a very hard time for her to cope. In the article it states," ...Maybe that's why stories in books are so real to him. "It's like if he reads it, he truly believes it," Peterson says." This quote clearly states that Amare is a young boy that likes to read. He is taught by his teacher who is trained to teach students with vision problems. Amare hasn't reached the stage of an adolescent and it changes the perspectives because he has a different mind than Alicia. Amare has his family who supports hi, and his teacher who loves and appreciates the time spent together of learning and reading. Overall, in Things Not Seem, it talks about isolation and in the article, it talks about how you should surround yourself with the people that help you the most. It all ties in because both main characters are blind and their disability doesn't stop the, from becoming wiser and stronger.
Clements, Andrew. Things not seen. New York: Puffin , 2006. Print "8-year-old who is blind prepares for reading competition in L.A." Newsela | 8-year-old who is blind prepares for reading competition in L.A. N.p., 17 June 2016. Web. 12 May 2017.
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