Response: Darkness Too Visible

The article “Darkness Too Visible” by Megan Cox Gurdon, is mainly about how young adult literature is too dark for teens to be reading. Gurdon wants you to think that young adult books are gruesome and revolting, and not appropriate for teens to be reading. She uses books such as “The Marbury Lens” and “Rage” to prove her point. The author argues that the book on the shelves currently have become way too repugnant than they were before.

Gurdon uses specific craft to get you to feel that books nowadays are too dark. In the article, she uses the book “The Marbury Lens” to show how grim these novels are. “No happy ending to this one, either,” she states. She clearly wants the reader to think that these stories are going nowhere, and as a result won’t be suitable for teens. She supports this claim by using loaded words and a narrative from a mother. Gurdon uses phrases such as “nightmarish” and unimaginable gore and cruelty” to describe the horrid scenes that are in young adult literature today. Gurdon includes a narrative from a mother who was buying a book for her teenage daughter, but could not find one due to the horrific books she encountered. The author uses specific information to support her claim, however, she does not include a teenage perspective. The entire article is on teenage literature, shouldn’t she have included a teens’ point of view?

Gurdon doesn’t incorporate a teenage perspective. This leaves you wondering if her argument is even considerable. Can you trust her claim? After reading this article, my response is I disagree. I believe her point can’t be be valid because she does not include a very important aspect: a teenager’s say. This makes her argument seem weak and unreliable. Her points does not change my view on young adult literature. I believe teens can read anything explicit as long as it is purposeful and was meant to teach a lesson. I have realized it doesn’t matter what someone is trying to convince me, it is my judgment I should be trusting.