Burned post #3 Ellen Hopkins

          The book Burned by Ellen Hopkins is about this girl Pattyn who is in a abusive, Mormon household. Her father is a drunk and slightly abusive as well. Her mother is a very cowardess women who never stands up to her husband. Her mother also restricts Pattyn from socializing like a normal teenager would. Through out the book the way that Pattyn challenges her freedom causes conflict. This book is a good example of how freedom is "abused" then taken away.

          In the book Pattyn's parents teach her to "play everything safe" and to always be interested in all things Mormon. All things Mormon, such as boys. Pattyn abuses the freedoms (which are not many) tht her parents give her and starts a relationship with a boy who is not at all Mormon. Her father then finds out about their relationship and all of the "unmormon" acts they have been committing. Then her dad forbids her to see this boy and even leave the house to socialize. This is the point where Pattyn's freedoms are taken away. 

          I thought it was interesting how a theme of freedom was present in this book because we are learning about it in class. In class we are talking about freedom in a philosophical way, I wonder if the author was also questioning freedom when she was writing this book? I think that a lot of books have an underlying theme of freedom and it can probably cause controversy about what freedom really means. This book has allowed me to think about what the definition of freedom is, and how it can be taken away.